Scabbard



Patented Mar. 25, 1941 UNITED STA-TES PATENT OFFICE SGABBARD Philip L. Roberge, South St. Paul, Minn'. Application November 21, 1938,SerialvNo. 241,644

1 Claim.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in scabbards and more particularly to such a device adapted to provide aconvenient support for knives used` by butchers land others engaged in slaughtering. f

It is well known that sanitation is of utmost importance in all industries handlingfoodstuls. 4In modern packing plants where largequantities of meat are handled daily by operation and spew, cial equipment, sanitation is often a problem because of the nature of the industry. Operation in such institutions often carry one or more knives which are used for Skinning and for cute tingmeat, etc. These knives are usually carried 15. in a scabbard or other suitable holder strappedl to or otherwise supported upon the body of the operator whereby he may conveniently gras'pt'he knife when desired.

Scabbards, as now commonly constructed, do not present the utmost in sanitation, because' of the manner in which they? are constructed'. Most scabbards comprise a receptacle orv holder for receiving the blade of the knife. This receptacle is usually so constructed that it substantially conceals the blade of the knife, which is objectionable, because it is diflicult to readilyinspect the knife and receptacle to see that they are maintained in' a sanitary condition. Such. devices are also difficult to thoroughlyclean, rst, because of 3d the inherent construction thereof, and secondly,` because many of them are constructed of a more or less porous material, such as leather', which absorbs moisture and filth, and is therefore diiiicult to maintain in a sanitary condition. The present invention is directed to a scabbard which is extremely simple in construction, and which is constantly openf` so that it may readily bel inspected and cleaned, when necessary, and thus kept in a sanitary condition.

An object of thev presentr invention, therefore, is to provide a scabbard which offers the utmost in simplicity and sanitation.

A further object is to provide a scabbard comprising a body having oppositely disposed guide channels adapted to slidably receive a member having a portion cooperating with the body of the scabbard to support a knife, said channels engaging only the side portions of said member, whereby the entire front side of the scabbard is open so that the blade of the knife may readily be seen, and also whereby the condition of the scabbard may readily be noted at all times.

A further object is to provide a scabbard vcomprising a body formed of sheet material having 55 'its opposite edges turned inwardly to form inclin'ed guide channels or upright grooves adapted to receive a frame-like member provided with suitable cross bars which are spaced outwardly from the `back wall of the body of the scabbard, and cooperate therewith to receive and support 5 the blade of a knife.

A further object is to provide a scabbard which is extremely simple and inexpensive to construct, and which is devoid of sharp corners and crevices whereby it may readily and conveniently be kept io in a clean and sanitary condition with a minimum of eiiort.

Other objects of the invention reside in the general construction of the device; in the construction of the guide channels provided at the l5 sides of the body of the scabbard which channels taper inwardly in a downward direction, whereby when the knife-supporting member is fitted into said channels, it is supported therein by a wedging action; and in the simple construction of 20 the knife-supporting member, which is in the form of an open frame which may readily beintegrally'formed as by molding.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the following description and. accompanying 25 drawing and will be pointed out inthe annexed claim.

In the accompanying drawing, there has been disclosed a structure designed to carry out the' various objects of the invention, but it is to be 3() understood that the invention is not conned to the exact features shown as various changes may be made within the scope of the claim which follows.

In the drawing- 35 .Y Figure, l is' a perspective View showing the scabbard with the knife supported therein;

Figure2 is a vertical sectional view on the line 2 2 of Figure 4, showing the knife-supporting member in position in the guide channels, the position of a knife being indicated by dotted lines;

Figure 3 is a sectional plan View on the line 3 3 of Figure 4;-

Figure 4 is a front view of the device partially broken away to show the construction of the guide channels; and

Figure 5 is a View showing the knife-supporting member removed from the guideways.

The novel scabbard herein disclosed comprises 50 a body 2, formed of sheet material, preferably metal, such as sheet aluminum. Suitable guide channels 3 are provided at opposite sides ofthe body 2. These channels are slightly tapered in a downward direction, as best shown in Figure 2, and may also be angularly disposed with respect to one another as shown in Figure 4.

The channels 3 are shown extending the major portion of the length of the body 2, and provide smooth unbroken surfaces which may readily be kept clean and sanitary, as will readily be understood.

The upper end of the body 2 is shown provided with suitable means for supporting the l scabbard. In the drawing I have shown a device for this purpose, which is generally indicated by the numeral 4. This device may be formed of a suitable wire, or a small rod having its lower portion suitably secured to the upper edge of 15 the body 2 by such means as rolling the edge over the lower bar of the device 4, as shown at 5 in Figure 2. Suitable loops are provided at the ends of the device 4 adapted to receive the ends of a strap or belt which may be fastened 2O around the waist of a person, thereby to support the scabbard in position so that the knife, generally indicated by the numeral l, may readily be grasped.

It is to be understood that other means applicable fer the purpose may be provided at the upper end of the body 2 lfor supporting the scabbard upon the body of a person.

rThe means for supporting the knife 'l in position in the body 2 is best shown in Figures l, 30 3 and 5, and comprises a member or holder li) having side portions 8 connected together by suitable crossbars 9 and Il. The cross bars 9 and li are disposed in different planes whereby the upper bar 9 is spaced outwardly away from 35 the back wall i2 of the body 2 a greater distance than the lower cross bar Il. The side portions 8 of the holder ill are disposed at slight angles with respect to one another, corresponding to the angles of the guide channels .3. The side 4Q portions t also` taper inwardly in a downward direction, so that when the holder is inserted into the channels 3 of the body of the scabbard, it will be supported therein by a wedging action, as will readily be understood by reference to 45 Figures l and 2.

The cross members 9 and l! of the knife-supporting member or holder lil are disposed in different planes as shown in Figure 2, in order to provide a better support for the knife. In

50 other words, by outwardly spacing the cross bar 9 from the back wall I2 of the body of the scabbard a relatively greater distance than the lower cross bar Il, the blade of the knife may engage both cross bars, when the knife is inserted in 55 the scabbard, as illustrated in dotted lines in Figure 2. It is to be noted that by thus supporting the knife, the cutting edge ofl the blade will not Contact the body of the scabbard, or any other parts thereof, which might dull the edge c() ofthe blade.

It will also be noted that because of the bars being arranged as shown, the lowerterminal or point of the knife blade may engage the back wall I2 of the scabbard, while the handle of the knife is disposed at a slight angle with respect to the wall l2, so that its upper end is spaced outwardly from the upper portion of the back 5 wall of the scabbard, thereby to facilitate grasping the handle.

By constructing the body 2 of the scabbard as herein disclosed it will be noted that there are no sharp corners or crevices present in the 10 structure in which dirt and filth may accumulate. 'I'he channels 3 have smooth rounded bottoms their entire lengths, whereby they may readily be wiped clean when the knife holder l0 is removed from the body of the scabbard, as shown in Figure 4. The member l0 is also devoid of sharp corners or crevices so that it too may be readily kept in a sanitary condition without effort.

Another feature of the novel construction of the scabbard resides in the fact that the front or exposed side of the scabbard is open, whereby the knife and those parts of the scabbard en gaged by the knife, may readily be seen at all times. This is a very desirable feature in that 2 the operator may see at a glance when the scabbard requires cleaning, and in packing plants where devicesv of this nature are quite generally used, inspectors may readily detect whether or not the butchers scabbard may require cleaning.

'I'he device is extremely simple in construction in that the body 2 of the device may be readily formed from a smooth blank of material having its opposite edges inwardly rolled to provide the upright inclined channels 3. The knife ,5 holder I0 is also extremely simple in construction and is so designed that it may readily and conveniently be molded of a suitable material such, for example, as aluminum. It requires substantially no machine work, whereby the en- 40 tire device may be manufactured at very low cost.

I claim as my invention:

An all metal scabbard comprising a body formed from a blank of sheet metal, 4opposite edges of said blank being outwardly and inwardly bent to form upright oppositely disposed guide channels, said channels being disposed at an inoline with respect to each other, and gradually diminishing in size in a downward direction, and a member comprising vertically spaced horizontal bars offset from the plane of said body, said bars having their terminals secured to oppositely disposed portions adapted to be wedgingly received in said channels, thereby to firmly support the member in said body, and whereby it may 5,5 readily be removed therefrom, when necessary, to facilitate cleaning the scabbard, and the upper bar of said member being spaced a greater distance from said body than the lower bar thereof, whereby a knife blade may readily be'inserted 60 between said bars and body.

PHILIP L. ROBERGE. 

